Mark Nonoy caught fire offensively in the second half as the Iloilo United Royals pulled off an 85-78 upset over the Davao Occidental Tigers-Cocolife in the 2024 MPBL season on Wednesday night at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.
Down 52-59 midway through the third quarter, the United Royals got a three-point play from Clint Doliguez, followed by nine straight points from Nonoy, to take a 63-61 advantage.
The game was still tight for both teams in the fourth quarter until Conrad Catapusan and Crispin John Cansino took turns on the offensive end to establish a 78-70 advantage before Nonoy secured the win with free throws down the stretch.
Nonoy top-scored with 18 points, with half of his scores coming from the free throw area, for the United Royals, which secured their first back-to-back wins of the season for a 4-7 win-loss slate.
RJ Berjay stepped up with a near double-double performance of 13 points and nine rebounds, while Cansino and Doliguez contributed 12 and 11 points, respectively, for Iloilo.
“That’s the way we should play all the time. Good thing we were prepared well by the coaches,” said Iloilo playing team manager Jay Javelosa. “Props to all the coaching staff. Preparation is really a big factor coming in the game.”
Jun Manzo tallied a double-double of 14 points and 10 assists, while Kenneth Ighalo and Riego Gamalinda added 12 and 11 points, respectively, as the Tigers saw their eight-game winning run snapped to drop to an 8-3 record.
Meanwhile, Jerie Pingoy drilled a game-winning basket as the Rizal XentroMall Golden Coolers (7-4) protected homecourt with a close 76-74 escape over the Pangasinan Heatwaves (3-8).
Pingoy, formerly of the Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles, finished with two points to go with three rebounds, one assist, and a steal in almost 14 minutes of play for Rizal.
Batangas City Tanduay Rum Masters (9-2), on the other hand, prevailed over the Mindoro Tamaraws (4-8), 82-73. Levi Hernandez top-scored for the Rum Masters with 26 points.
The post MPBL: Mark Nonoy waxes hot as Iloilo upsets Davao Occidental first appeared on Fastbreak.
0 comments: